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As always, I had an amazing time at a comic book convention. While I go to check out the latest releases and the new talent in Artist’s Alley, it’s the friendships I’ve made that makes it worth it (sappy I know). The 2011 New York Comic Con was fantastic and seemed about a quarter to 50% bigger this year than last.

While the floor was amazing, the convention rooms were a bit packed and there were quite a few panels I wasn’t able to get into (bummer). Hopefully that gets fixed next year. The people attending were fantastic with great costumes and attitudes that made it fun for everyone. The displays weren’t as impressive, I saw most at San Diego earlier this year. But, I got to see my name on the cover of Archaia‘s Critical Millennium hard cover, I giggled every time I saw it.

Here’s the checklist of the thoughts on top of my head:

Always great seeing Charles Soule and Len Wallace (and Jessica), good friends and great talents. I especially had fun sitting behind Charle’s table and selling some of his comics for a bit (27 and Strongman). Also chatting with Drew Gaska as always was fun, some day we’ll figure out a time for a radio interview.

Fantastic to hang out with Chip Mosher and get to know the comiXology crew. They’re an upcoming tech company everyone should be watching.

I bumped in BOOM! Studios and Ross Ritchie and some of his team. Such nice folks.

The CBLDF deserves your support people! Get involved!

I still don’t get anime and manga but the GEN Manga folks were so nice.

I got to meet a great talent Palle Schmidt and can’t wait to spotlight him more. So smart and interesting to talk to. He opened my eyes on a few things I’ve covered with a better perspective.

The Reed Pop crew do an amazing job putting together shows.

Mel and Archaia, Filip and Top Cow are class acts, so happy to see them every show.

Best items I returned home with besides the stacks of comics and graphic novels to read…

A new guitar pic for Charles Soule‘s 27 in honor of the launch of the second volume

I finally bought show exclusives including Hasbro‘s Hulk and the Spidey/Fireman Mini-mate

I got Spidey Mega Blocks!

DC had one of the oddest promotions, a light up Kryptonite ice cube to promote Smallville.

ComiXology Names Chip Mosher as Vice President of Marketing, Public Relations and Business Development

Mosher Opens comiXology’s New Los Angeles Office

October 10, 2010 – New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA – ComiXology, the leading distributor of digital comics, has named Chip Mosher to its management team as Vice-President of Marketing, Public Relations and Business Development. Mosher will be heading up comiXology’s new Los Angeles office, expanding the company’s reach across both coasts.

“We’re doubly excited to add a tremendous asset like Chip to our team, while also expanding our physical presence to the West Coast,” said David Steinberger, CEO and co-founder of comiXology. “Chip has one of the most imaginative and aggressive marketing and PR minds in the business, and his diverse background in comics brings a unique perspective to comiXology. And while comiXology’s presence is already felt worldwide, having a physical presence in the entertainment capital of the world has become a must for us!”

Mosher most recently acted as Marketing and Sales Director for BOOM! Studios, serving as part of the team that took BOOM! Studios from promising upstart to top-tier publisher. Known industry-wide for his innovative marketing — like the “Mark Waid is Evil” viral campaign, which helped launch Mark Waid’s series Irredeemable as one of the most successful new series in the past five years — Mosher’s hands have touched every major product launch at BOOM! since mid-2007.

In the digital realm, Mosher provided early industry leadership when he helped mastermind the first same-day-as-print release of a digital and print comic with BOOM!’s North Wind series. He also oversaw BOOM!’s digital initiative, including the launch of BOOM!’s iPad application in association with comiXology.

On the publishing side, Mosher helped launch and oversee BOOM!’s new lit-comix imprint BOOM! Town. Mosher edited BOOM! Town’s first release, Shannon Wheeler’s I Thought You Would Be Funnier, which won the Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication this past summer.

Mosher also was selected this past summer as a judge for the prestigious Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award competition.

About comiXology

Since 2007 comiXology has been developing the technological infrastructure to bring comics into the digital mainstream and expose new audiences to the rich history and culture of the industry. Through partnerships with top comic book publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Archaia Entertainment, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment and Image Comics as well as their own mobile and web apps which host over 14,000 digital titles, comiXology has become a leader in digital comic book proliferation. Also focused on creating strong ties with retail stores through its technology solutions, comiXology continues to transform the previously fragmented comic ecosystem into a vibrant and cohesive marketplace.

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When I go to conventions, I tend to spend my time on the floor talking to publishers, writers, artists or stumbling through Artist Alley. But, there’s usually an excellent choice of panels to attend too, that I never seem to manage to attend. At Baltimore Comic Con, I decided to attend the panel hosted by BOOM!‘s Chip Mosher spotlighting the talented Shannon Wheeler.

Wheeler is the creator of Too Much Coffee Man, and recently won an Eisner Award for his collection of rejected New Yorker cartoons, I Thought You Would be Funnier. Shannon also has written an opera and you might see his work in The New Yorker.

Wheeler began cartooning at an early age, taking classes from Michael T. Gilbert during the evenings. He went on to study architecture at Berkley and started to create cartoons for $10 a pop. Shannon from there began to recount stories that were beyond entertaining. In the first he recounted how he and a friend dissected cartoons and how jokes were told. This lead to a lot of discussion, but not a lot of creating. The second explaining how he had to defend his cartoons at Berkley as he was lined up with the other cartoonists and would be grilled if his comic met certain criteria in it’s depictions. The lesson he learned from there was to answer “yes.” His first major comic at Berkley was Tooth & Justice.

Around 1988 Shannon moved to Austin, Texas where he became a video store clerk and would hang out at The Daily Texan newspaper with other legendary cartoonists such as Chris Ware.

His first real hit was Too Much Coffee Man which saw over 10,000 copies sold for it’s first issue and is in it’s seventh printing. The series ran for ten issues (sort of). Wheeler explained how he skipped two issues because he wasn’t having fun creating it, thinking the readers wouldn’t have fun reading it. He really liked the ending, so decided to skip two issues. He needed to skip two so that the covers worked the way he wanted. This lead him the exclaim:

There’s nothing rarer than a non-existent comic book.

The stories flowed from there and here are the highlights, some never having been told before.

In 1993, Wheeler and his friends decided to make a bullet hole comic book gimmick. They’d shoot a comic with a bullet and work the hole into the stories (one person forgot that part). They debated if it was a good idea, Wheeler said no matter the idea, people will look for excuses not to do it. They shot the books 3 times with the last time being done in a house garage and music covering up the gun fire. A 9mm gun and a shotgun has been used and the shotgun was guaranteed “unreadable” selling fort $20. The lesson, as condition goes down, the value goes up.

Japanese bootleg shirt – this was the “big story reveal’ of the show. Wheeler wanted to do a t-shirt with Kanji writing and a picture or Too Much Coffee Man. He felt it was a bit pretentious to do. But, if the t-shirt is already selling in Japan, that’d justify the t-shirt. So began the story of the bootlegged shirt. Wheeler explained to people that a friend saw the t-shirt and that he was bootlegging and bootlegged t-shirt. The translation was even off stating, “Person who drinks coffee often” as you’d expect in a t-shirt of that nature. Ironically he was later contacted by a Japanese company, who actually licensed the t-shirt.

Wheeler was irritated he at one point had never gotten an award, so he had planned on creating a fake award for him to receive. While this was in the planning stages he then actually received one, scrapping the plan.

The stories went on and on, going over the Too Much Coffee Man opera, his work for The New Yorker and his latest book collecting rejected submissions. Wheeler throughout was honest and open recounting the good and bad.

The panel was engaging and entertaining, running over it’s hour allotment. If you head to a convention and have a chance to see him speak, absolutely take advantage, you’ll be entertained and learn a lot.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – August 16, 2011 – The Baltimore Comic-Con is excited to announce the addition of THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE cartoonist and TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN creator Shannon Wheeler to the lineup of guests for this year’s show, taking place the weekend of August 20-21, 2011.Hot off an Eisner win for his collection of rejected NEW YORKER cartoons, I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER – published by BOOM! Town, the alt-lit imprint of BOOM! Studios – Wheeler will be found at the BOOM! Studios booth for the duration of Baltimore Comic Con. I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER is currently nominated for a Harvey in the Special Award for Humor in Comics.
This past spring BOOM! Studios announced a three book deal with Shannon Wheeler ushering in three new bodies of work under the BOOM! Town imprint. This fall see the release of the all-new original graphic novel GRANDPA WON’T WAKE UP written by simon max hill, followed up this winter by a new collection of Wheeler’s signature creation with TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN: CUTIE ISLAND & OTHER STORIES, and finally next spring sees a sequel to the critically acclaimed I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER, entitled I TOLD YOU SO – an all-new collection of rejected NEW YORKER cartoons!
TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN has had a storied publishing history, first self-published in the 90’s by Shannon Wheeler himself and then during the last decade by Dark Horse Entertainment from which previous volumes can still be purchased today.
This fall Fantagraphics will be releasing Wheeler’s OIL AND WATER, written by Steve Duin about the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill, and next year Top Shelf Productions will be releasing Wheeler’s GOD IS DISAPPOINTED IN YOU, a tongue-in-cheek retelling of the Bible written by Mark Russell.Full Guest ListA complete list of confirmed guests for this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con can be found here.

Third Annual Costume Contest at the Baltimore Comic-Con – UPDATED
The 3rd Annual Costume Contest will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 3:00 pm. With $1,000 up for grabs for the best overall costume and prizes for each of the 10 categories, this is one event all of you cosplayers don’t want to miss! For more information and a complete list of catagories, visit our website’s Costume Contest page.

Harvey Tickets Still Available

Time is running out, but there is still an opportunity to attend the party! Join our MC Scott Kurtz, nominees, presenters, Stan Lee, and other fans at the Harvey Awards Banquet! Tickets available until Wednesday at baltimorecomiccon.com/harvey-awards.Stan Lee VIP Packages Sold Out! Autographs and Photos Still Available!

Please Note: Although the Stan Lee VIP Packages are officially sold out, individual autographs and photographs are still available and can be purchased by visiting http://baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/.

Save the Date! Baltimore Comic-Con 2012!

That’s right! Mark your calendars now for next year’s Baltimore Comic-Con, which will take place the weekend of September 8-9, 2012 at the Baltimore Convention Center, and we’ll see YOU in Baltimore!

Twitter Hashtag
Will you be tweeting this year from the show floor? Make sure you use the #BCC2011 hashtag! See what the latest news and excitement at the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con is about by tracking #BCC2011!

Attending the Baltimore Comic-Con? Show your support online!

Simply change your social network (Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc.) avatar pictures to the “See You in Baltimore!” image and let the world know you’re attending the show!

In coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found at our website, Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace pages.

This year’s Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 21st.

Contact Information

Please use the following e-mail addresses to contact the Baltimore Comic-Con:

The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 12th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry’s oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 20 years, the last 6 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org.

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Email is one area that the entire comic book industry is lagging behind, so I paused and read the below message sent today by Boom! Studios‘ Chip Mosher. The email comes of personal and is a very good “ask” and this is coming from someone who writes emails professionally for organizations and campaigns. You can read the full email below, but kudos for changing it up from the normal newsletter.

The email began with the awesome subject, “BOOM! Studios needs a favor from you.”

To all our BOOM! Studios/KABOOM! Newsletter Subscribers,

As I am sure you have read, sales for comics are down this year from last. So I wanted to ask you all to do me a favor… and that is to make sure you are pre-ordering your books from your local comic shop or online retailer. If you don’t have a subscription or pull list, and you are a comics fan, please take the time to work with your local comic shop to get one. By pre-ordering your comics with your local retailer you make it easier for them to know what to order for their store and run their business better. This isn’t just true for BOOM! Studios comics and trades, but for every publisher and every store. It’s just a very helpful thing to do!

Selfishly, I want to let you know about a comic book from us that you should definitely be pre-ordering! Roger Langridge’s SNARKED (Diamond Code of JUN110963) debuts this August with a #0 issue for only $1. You might have fallen in love with Roger’s cartooning on his Harvey Award-winning THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK series that we published over the past two years or his writing on THOR:THE MIGHTY AVENGER, which was a fan-favorite this past year from our friends at Marvel. Below, I’m going to give you a chance to see some preview pages and read some of the advanced reviews that we have gotten on this title, if you haven’t seen them already. I could tell you more about the book, but I’d rather you just experience the pure joy of Roger’s work below. The advance buzz on this book is great and I don’t want you to miss out.

So when you go to your local comic shop today, or later in the week, make sure you have a subscription or pull list at the store. And if you are so inclined, put SNARKED #0 (Diamond Code of JUN110963) on that new list or the list you currently have. It’s only a buck, so you won’t regret it. (SNARKED #1 will be coming out this October.) Making sure you have a subscription or pull list at your local comic shop is just the right thing to do these days – whether you put SNARKED on it or not. But I am the Marketing and Sales Director here at BOOM!, so you’ll have to forgive me for trying to sell you on SNARKED! :P

Graphic Policy believes in journalistic integrity and transparency. We will disclose when a product has been given for free for review and/or when no cost has been incurred to the staff so that you may be able to make a fully informed decision as to the opinions provided.

When a product has been provided for free you will see disclosure at the bottom of the article. When such a disclosure does not exist, you can assume that the items have been purchased for review.